Nothing beats the sheer brilliance of pitch-perfect live vocals. Except, perhaps, pitch-perfect live vocals alongside dazzling dancing and awe-inspiring acrobatics.
This is what Le Aerial serves up on a silver platter. The crowd-favourite performance, showing from 2 to 5 October at Arts Centre Melbourne’s Fairfax Studio, offers an onslaught of sonic and visual magic.
Having already made waves across the country, the show has five stars by Glam Adelaide, who called it “a remarkable display of aerial feats that spellbind the audience”. But what really sets it apart is its star-studded team.
Le Aerial
- 2 to 5 October
- Arts Centre Melbourne, Fairfax Studio
- Tickets here
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Presented by Aerial Artists Australia, it features some of the nation’s finest performers at the top of their game. The crowd will bear witness to superstar aerialists as they perform thrilling, gravity-defying tricks and treasures.
Longtime dance partners Sriani Argaet and Craig Monely (of Dancing With The Stars fame) will also be making an appearance.
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Veteran vocalist Stephen Mahy is one of the show’s singers, teaming up with respected opera, cabaret and concert vocalist Mark Oates. With nearly 20 years in “show biz”, Mahy is a tenor vocalist and actor with a degree from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts.
“To sing for the aerialists on stage, it feels magical and really present,” he says.
With a long history on the screen and the stage, he’s performed in productions across the country from Mamma Mia to Miss Saigon, and from Jersey Boys to Jekyll and Hyde. He first met the Le Aerial team last year in his hometown of Sydney, when they performed a much-acclaimed show at the Sydney Opera House.
“My role is to sing and create the atmosphere for the night,” says Mahy. “We weave in and out of numbers to grab the audience’s attention, lift up the energy in the room and support the incredible aerialists.”
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He says ultimately, his job as a singer in Le Aerial is to support and elevate the other performers, who thrill the crowd with their mid-air spins, leaps and feats of flexibility. Clad in magnificent costumes, they twirl and twist from nets, hoops and silks in front of a backdrop of smoke and coloured lights.
“The aerialists have been working on their craft for months before it hits the stage. The sheer strength they all have is incredible. I can only imagine the amount of hours they’ve put in for this,” says Mahy.
But while the music may play an accompanying role, Mahy is certainly still challenging himself with Le Aerial. “I sing really different styles throughout the show and it pushes my range from high to low,” he says.
There are also moments when he’s just as shocked as the audience is by the feats of gymnastic strength and agility, and he has to work to keep his focus.
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“There’s a great number in the show where I’m singing underneath one of the aerialists while they balance on their head and swing from side to side. I have to remember to sing and not hold my breath while it happens. Then I have to balance on the bar and get lifted up. While they spin me.”
In rehearsals, Mahy’s been working on making sure he gets his part perfectly aligned with the energetic beats of the show. “Vocally, it’s all about drilling the lyrics and timings of the songs,” he says. “Whether it’s a duet or a solo, the hard work begins before we go on stage.”
And all that hard work will soon pay off, with five mesmerising shows in Melbourne. Le Aerial is a do-not-miss show for anyone with a penchant for theatre, song, or even just the marvels of the human body – its power and possibilities, and the beauty that comes when it’s pushed to the limit.
“This show is on fire from the first beat,” Mahy says. “You’re holding your breath while aerialists swing from the rooftops, fly out over the audience and are swept away by the music. Like all iconic shows, this one delivers and then some.”
For more information on Le Aerial, head here.
This article was made in partnership with Le Aerial.
